Waterford house heavily damaged by afternoon fire

Firefighters cool off outside 9 Laurel Glen Road in Waterford Saturday, July 27, 2013, after responding to the house fire that killed three cats. No occupants were at home at the time of the fire, according to the owner Sharon Palmer.

Waterford — Fire departments from Waterford, Montville, East Lyme and New London responded to a house fire at 9 Laurel Glen Road shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday.

The owner of the house, Sharon Palmer, said all five of the occupants, including her daughter, her daughter's partner and three children, weren't at home at the time of the fire.

Palmer is the state labor commissioner and is a longtime Waterford and state Democrat and labor leader.

Quaker Hill Fire Department Assistant Chief Vincent Ukleja said that, when the first firefighters arrived, the fire was blowing out of the main living room window and the garage, with heavy, black smoke billowing from the front door and side windows.

He said firefighters had everything under control in about 45 minutes but stayed an extra couple of hours to make sure the hot spots were quenched and the fire didn't rekindle.